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karlosdaynjer
Reviews
Encounter (2018)
It wasn't horrible
I don't quite get the low rating and silly negative reviews for this film. The people who complain that it is slow are clearly youngsters with short attention spans. I found the story in general, as well as the characters compelling up until the end. I also found practical effects refreshing in an age of overdone CGI. Filmed differently, it could have been a full-on homage to classic sci-fi movies.
However, I would say that I found the conclusion disappointing and unfulfilling. There is an impression that all is well, and relationships are restored. The implication of happy ending for everyone was really not realistic given all the things that preceded.
Robowar - Robot da guerra (1988)
Laughably bad but entertaining
As noted previously, this is essentially an Italian very low-rent mashup of Predator and Robocop. This allegedly elite military team is sent into the jungle for a mission that is not clear to even them. These super soldiers waste hundreds (thousands?) of rounds shooting at things they can't even see, easily using more ammunition that they could have possibly brought. They loudly broadcast their position everywhere they go, make ridiculous mistakes, and as a consequence, everyone you think will die does. I don't think that's a spoiler. As if edited with a chainsaw, dead people show up after they've been killed - not unlike Space Mutiny, another Reb Brown film. Oh, and in the post-credits, Reb's character is called "Marphy", as opposed to "Murphy" as he is in opening credits.
My rating is for how much I enjoyed the film, not its actual quality rating, which I give a generous 2.5/10.
Stargate: Atlantis: Inquisition (2008)
I hate clip shows
I think my title says pretty much everything. Sadly, too many shows (especially sci-fi, but sitcoms are not exempt) use them. They are lazy, waste of time episodes wherever you see them. If you can't give me an original story, don't bother. I mean, you only have so many episodes in a season to tell a story, so PLEASE DON'T WASTE OUR TIME WITH A CLIP/FLASHBACK SHOW.
Thanks,
Carlos.
Logan's Run: Night Visitors (1978)
Gavin: Hands of Fate
So, everyone agrees that this is a bad episode; this fact in not in question. However, one can't help but notice the similarities between it and MST3K's most notorious episode.
A family of three get lost on a dark night, and they come across what is essentially Valley Lodge. Logan is Michael, the inept husband and father that stops after the family gets lost. They stay at a place where the caretaker (Torgo/Barton) is reluctant to let them stay. The Master (Gavin) wants Jessica (Margaret) as one of his wives. Rem is perhaps the equivalent of Debbie. However, unlike Manos, our heroes are able to escape. And the Lodge remains open to trap more unwary travelers.
Maybe not, but this is indeed a terrible episode of Logan's Run, a series that had more promise than it was given.
Doctor Who: Orphan 55 (2020)
"How Dare You?!?"
This episode could barely have been more condescending if it had a brief regeneration of our favorite Time Lord as Greta Thunberg. I swear I heard her preachy voice in that last speech. Look, I am absolutely in favor of being a good steward of the planet, but really, that was misplaced. And then The Doctor makes the odd claim that this is only a "possible" future? How very Dickensian of her. Have we ever heard that before? I don't think so. It was simply a breaking of the 4th wall for the purpose of preaching at the viewer.
However, that wasn't the only thing I disliked about this episode; it had some continuity issues I couldn't resolve. Did this episode take place before or after Earth's relocation across the galaxy (and its subsequent renaming as Ravalox) 2 million years in our future? The reveal of it as Earth was very similar to Peri's discovery in The Mysterious Planet.
Like others, I couldn't get into the motivation of destroying the hotel and everyone in it just from a vendetta against her mother. That makes her a terrorist, yet somehow we are to retain some sense of sympathy for her (I didn't). In fact, it was an uninteresting soap opera-esque plot device. Despite that, I found it very un-Doctorish to leave mother and daughter to die a cruel death at the hands of the Dregs. The 13th Doctor never wants anyone to die, and yet she chose not to save them. Nope. Make a speech, and next episode.
Oh, and the green haired father and son had zero chemistry.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (2017)
A new start
When I heard that MST3K was going to reboot last year, I was cautiously optimistic. However, after an 18 year hiatus (nearly twice the length of its official run), how true to the source material was it going to be? I have a mixed response.
The introduction to the new host, Mads, and robots is lame. They just plop these new characters in front of you with minimal exposition, and hope you'll accept them just as replacements for the originals. Felicia Day is atrocious as Dr. Forester's progeny. Oswalt's character is is passable, if ineptly and unimaginatively named. The Invention Exchanges are forced and unfunny, and never were that great of a feature of the original show. They can go, just like they did before.
Jonah shows promise as a host, but he seems too relaxed in the role. Both Mike and Joel had a sense of being on edge, while he seems perfectly happy stranded in space. Who are these new robots? They look like Tom and Crow, but have entirely new personalities. I would have been happy with (or even preferred) entirely new robots for an entirely fresh start. That isn't to say they're not likable, they're just not Tom, Crow, or Gypsy.
The movie riffing is better than I expected, although five episodes in there have been some stinkers. They frequently say too much, too fast - not realizing that timing is as important as quality or quantity of jokes. And as yet, their voices are not quite that distinct within their characters to always know who is speaking.
While it's not perfect, let's face it - the original had plenty of flaws. For it's first season, it's way better than any KTMA episodes or even any Cinematic Titanic. I hope it gets renewed for a 2nd season at least. It has a lot of potential.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Very much a disappointment
DC makes great animated features. The Justice League series and independent DTV movies are very solidly entertaining. Same for the various animated Batman series as well. Even their live- action TV shows have been mostly compelling (well, except for Supergirl...). Yet somehow, most of their attempts to bring Superheroes to the Big Screen just fail to deliver. I except the first two Chris Reeve movies.
Man of Steel wasn't perfect, but held promise for something greater. That promise was broken in BvS. The casting, the convoluted plot, the apparent choice to not adequately light scenes so we could see what the heck was going on, etc. completely detract from the story they might have been trying to tell. It's very telling when so many reviewers even admit they're giving this substandard film a 10 "just to offset the negative ratings".
On a positive note, this has given me very low expectations for any future Justice League films; maybe I'll enjoy them more as a consequence. Ideally, they'll get their act together by then, but I'm not optimistic.
Fantastic Four (2015)
How did this make it to theaters?
I had low expectations for this movie, so if it delivered even a little bit I would have enjoyed it. Some problems have been mentioned already: The cast - too young, and poorly chosen. The guy who becomes the Thing is the smallest character? Reed is a high school nerd? Uh, no. And as sexist as this sounds, Sue should be hotter. I almost liked Johnny. Effects - some of the early flying scenes of Torch were reminiscent of the unreleased (but in some ways better) Roger Corman version that can be found on youtube.
Reed and Ben construct a teleporter of some kind, but they have no idea where it goes? They've never taken soil samples, sent a digital camera or cell phone to try and see? They are possibly stupider than the last incarnation of the FF, who only caused millions of dollars of damage and endangered a few dozen human lives on a bridge on their first outing. These morons thought it would be a good idea to take a drunken excursion to another dimension, which ends up nearly destroying the planet.
Also, could someone tell me how they maintained radio and video contact with the other dimension once objects were sent? There were no open portals through which signals could travel. So much wrong with this movie, and I don't have the energy or desire to rehash it here.